Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier get heated over respective interim title wins

Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier had a heated exchange on Tuesday, getting into it over their respective interim title wins.

Poirier and Gaethje fought in 2018, with the former winning by fourth-round TKO. Poirier later went on to capture the UFC’s interim lightweight title with a win over Max Holloway, but lost it when he came up short in a title-unifying showdown with undisputed lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Gaethje, meanwhile, captured the interim lightweight belt with a win over Tony Ferguson earlier this year, after he rebounded from his loss to Poirier with consecutive wins over James Vick, Edson Barboza, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. He’s now scheduled to take on Nurmagomedov for the undisputed strap ahead in the main event of UFC 254 this Saturday.

Ahead of this fight, Gaethje took a quick shot at Poirier for the way he comported himself after winning the interim belt. He claimed that Poirier acted as though he’d “made it,” rather than turning his attention directly to Nurmagomedov.

“You saw when @DustinPoirier got that interim belt wrapped around his waist he’d made it.”

“The challenge is Khabib!”@Justin_Gaethje explains why he ditched the interim title at UFC 249.

Watch the full interview on YouTube ahead of #UFC254 👉 https://t.co/e4PeS2OJzo pic.twitter.com/UCTHQtW7Cw

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) October 20, 2020

“You saw when Dustin Poirier got that interim belt wrapped around his waist he’d made it,” said Gaethje, who all but abandoned the interim title after he won it against Ferguson. “The challenge is Khabib!”

It did not long for Poirier to respond to this dig from Gaethje. In his response, he reminded his rival what happened when they fought.

Because I had worked so hard to put myself in that position..

Remember when i hit you with that left hand? https://t.co/kyelw7CnpR

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 20, 2020

“Because I had worked so hard to put myself in that position,” Poirier wrote. “Remember when i hit you with that left hand?”

Gaethje then offered a quick rebuttal, offering a different take on things. Despite losing his fight with Poirier, he suggested he was in better shape after their fight.

“Don’t be mad at me because you made the mistake of thinking you made it,” Gaethje wrote. “Remember when I was outside taking pics right after the fight and you were hopping around in a hospital?’

What do you think of this exchange between Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier?